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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29763441">a siren's call</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ushnuu/pseuds/ushnuu'>ushnuu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Disney - All Media Types, Disney Princesses, Moana (2016), The Little Mermaid - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Disney Rarepair, Disney femslash, F/F, Fluff, Mention of Minor Character Death, Modern Era, Overprotective Parents, Rare Pairings, Swim Team, melody is a bi disaster</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:09:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29763441</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ushnuu/pseuds/ushnuu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The sea has called to her as long as she can remember, but its only now, with Moana by her side, that she can finally follow that calling.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Melody/Moana Waialiki (Disney)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a siren's call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello and welcome!! this idea has been living in my mind rent-free for ages, ever since i realized that melody &amp;  moana have a very similar character arc and character motivations. i know there's a lot of moana/ariel fic out there already but there doesn't seem to be any moana/melody which is a true shame. as this is an au setting, ariel and melody are not related in this fic! </p><p>also please note my own high school did not have a swim team so i may have taken some liberties with this fanfic in that regard. please let me know if there is anything glaringly incorrect, but otherwise just suspend your disbelief.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The smell of saltwater burns in her nostrils, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.</p><p>Actually, that’s a lie. Melody would much prefer to stand at the precipice of the ocean, the wind carrying her dark hair as the waves lap at her toes in the sand, but when one lives in The Middle of Nowhere, Indiana, the best that she can hope for is the school gymnasium pool. She’s situated herself on one of the bleachers, the same spot she has claimed for the past month. The swimmers never pay her any mind – Aurora Merriweather is braiding her long, blonde locks in preparation for practice to begin, and Ella Tremaine is sat on the edge of the pool, kicking her legs idly through the water.</p><p>“Are you a fan?”</p><p>Melody nearly jumps out of her skin as a voice sounds behind her. She pulls her Math binder up to her chest, as if it is a shield that will protect her from anyone and anything around her. “N- No! I’m…” She trails off as she turns to face the owner of the mysterious voice, her eyes tracing up amber coloured legs, a simple white floral dress, to a face that she doesn’t recognize. Not that Melody knows many people here. She’s only a freshman and she’s taken to keeping to herself – whether by choice or by necessity has yet to be proven. “Are you?”</p><p>The girl lets out a sigh, clearing the space between them in a few steps. “Not exactly.” She sits down beside Melody, elbows resting on her knees and chin finding its home in her hands. “I’m Moana. My family just moved here from Hawaii.”</p><p>Moana turns to look at Melody with a smile, and Melody feels her mouth go completely dry. Suddenly she forgets every single thing about herself. There’s something in Moana’s brown eyes, a kindness that she’s never quite seen in a peer before. All her classmates think she’s weird, and honestly, she doesn’t blame them. Melody doesn’t fit in; she’s <em> never </em> fit in. And her parents certainly don’t make things any easier on her. While the other kids can sign up for basketball, marching band, and debate team, Melody is instructed to go to and from school without incident, without stopping over at a friend’s house or joining any extra-curriculars. The only reason she’s able to watch swim practice every Thursday is because she’s convinced her parents that she’s working for extra credit in Math. She’s gotten good at lying.</p><p>“I’m Mel—” the word sticks in her throat and she clears it awkwardly. “Melody.” She finally drops the binder back into her lap, shoulders relaxing. “So. Why are you here?”</p><p>“Here as in <em> here</em>, or here as in no longer on the islands?” She doesn’t give Melody a chance to clarify. “Something bad happened and my father decided to take us as far away from the ocean as possible.” Her words are cryptic, but Melody doesn’t push. They’ve only just met, and she’s never been one to pry regardless. “This is the closest thing I could find to the sea.” She gestures towards the pool where the team is beginning to line up, goggles snapped into place, and hair tucked under their caps. “Now,” she turns back to Melody, one eyebrow lifted, “what about you?”</p><p>No one has ever bothered to ask for her story before, to sit and listen while she explains what makes her tick. A bizarre feeling stirs in the pit of her stomach. “There’s something about the water,” she begins, hands twisting awkwardly in her lap. “I’ve always felt like it was calling to me. You know what I mean?” One glance into Moana’s eyes and she knows that she <em> does </em>. Her cheeks burn and her gaze returns to her lap.</p><p>“You come here every practice?” Moana asks.</p><p>“Every Thursday,” Melody replies. “It’s about all I can get away with.” She heaves a sigh, watching with burning envy as Ella touches the pool wall and Ariel Christensen dives in headfirst to start the next lap.</p><p>“I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, then.”</p><p>“What—what do you mean?” She feels that same stirring in the pit of her stomach at the mere thought of seeing Moana again.</p><p>“If this is the closest thing I can get to the ocean, I’ll be here every day,” she explains.</p><p>“Oh. Okay.” She knows her cheeks are burning but she hopes that Moana is too focused on the swimmers to notice. Melody refuses to tear her gaze away from the action in the pool for fear of meeting Moana’s brown eyes and losing her thoughts all over again. “That sounds… good.”</p><p>The coach blows her whistle, sending a piercing screech through the cavernous room.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It’s two Thursdays later and Melody and Moana have found their sacred spot on the bleachers once more. Last week was spent in a comfortable silence, an exchanging of quick greetings when Melody had arrived to find Moana already seated on the bleachers, and then both of them keeping their attention focused entirely on the pool. They lapse into the same comfortable silence again until about half an hour into practice. It’s Melody who breaks the silence first.</p><p>“Are we friends?” It’s a blunt question but she can’t help herself. It’s been so long since she had a friend of any kind that, honestly, she’ll take whatever she can get.</p><p>Moana laughs at the question and Melody wishes that she’d just kept her stupid mouth <em> shut </em>. As the laughter dies down, however, Moana nods her head. “Yeah, I guess so. I haven’t made many other friends yet.”</p><p>“Really? I mean, you totally seem like the kind of person that would make friends right away! You’re nice, you’re pretty—” She falters immediately; is she supposed to say things like that?</p><p>“It’s not always that easy,” Moana replies. “People don’t exactly like <em> new </em>.” Melody’s a freshman but Moana is a junior; her classmates have already been together for the past two years, have formed their bonds, and are surely reluctant to let someone unknown into the fold.</p><p>“People don’t exactly like <em> strange </em> either,” Melody quips, pulling her dark hair over one shoulder and playing idly with the strands.</p><p>Moana turns towards her. “I don’t think you’re strange.”</p><p>“You might be the first.”</p><p>She ignores the comment.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Where is everyone?” The pool is quieter than she’s ever heard it before. Normally Ariel’s laughter echoes through the cavernous room, bouncing off each wall as it grows in volume, the water splashing as the girls perform laps or kick water at each other before their coach arrives. Today, however, the water lies still.</p><p>Moana is standing by the bleachers, bag hanging loosely from her shoulder. “Swim meet today,” she explains easily, her dark waves pulled up into a bun atop her head.</p><p>“Oh,” Melody replies, shuffling awkwardly. “Well…” She raises her hand in an awkward parting, but Moana reaches out to stop her. Her hand closes around Melody’s wrist and she can feel her heart hammering like a drum against her chest.</p><p>Their eyes meet, Moana’s warm with the promise of friendship and adventure. “No way, where do you think you’re going?” she teases. “Come <em> on </em>, this is the first time we’ve ever had the pool all to ourselves! Doesn’t it make you just want to… jump in?” Without waiting a beat, she kicks off her shoes, drops her bag, and runs towards the water. She dives in with such grace that Melody’s breath catches. Even Ariel Christensen doesn’t seem to move that deftly.</p><p>Moana surfaces, her white shirt clinging to her amber-coloured skin. “Come on in!” she calls out, shifting to float lazily on her back. “The water’s great!”</p><p>Melody shifts awkwardly in her spot. “I can’t.”</p><p>“What?” Moana backstrokes towards the pool wall, arms resting against the deck, hands cupping her chin. “No one’s gonna find out.”</p><p>“No, it’s not that.” She’s hugging herself now, blue eyes looking anywhere but at the girl in the pool. “I can’t…”</p><p>“Can’t what?”</p><p>“Can’t <em> swim </em>.”</p><p>Her words rest heavily in the air between them and Melody wishes that the ground would simply swallow her up.</p><p>“<em>W</em><em>hat? </em>” Moana’s out of the water in a flash, clothes dripping onto the pool deck. “But you said the water has always called to you.”</p><p>“It has,” Melody replies, eyes trained on Moana’s bare feet, “And my parents have never let me follow that call. They always thought I’d drown or…” She trails off, arms dropping to her side and hands balling into fists. “They won’t let me do anything! They think I’m still a child, like I need to be protected at every turn, but I’m not! I’m fourteen, and I should be able to walk to the 7/11 for a slushie if I want to! I should be able to go on a date if I want to! I should be able to <em>swim</em> if I want to!” She hadn’t realized that she was shouting until it was too late, the sound of her voice echoing through the empty room and arriving back to her ears in a repeating succession.</p><p><em> I should be able to swim, I should be able to swim, I should be able to swim </em>.</p><p>Suddenly Moana’s hands are on her shoulders and it seems as if the world has stopped spinning. She’s centered again, in this moment, and her cheeks burn with embarrassment at her outburst. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”</p><p>“I can teach you.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“To swim. I can teach you if you want.”</p><p>Melody dares to look up, to make eye contact. There’s that kindness again, that disposition that Moana possesses that makes it feel as if everything is okay, and everything will always be okay. It both sets her at ease and makes her want to throw up at the same time. “Yeah?”</p><p>“Yeah. Now come on.” She reaches for Melody, this time finding her hand rather than her wrist. She guides her carefully towards the edge of the pool, then sits down and slides carefully into the water. “<em> Come on </em>.” She’s treading water like a natural, her arms outstretched. “Don’t be afraid. I’ve got you.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Moana’s good – she struck up a conversation with Aurora Phillips in third period Biology and was able to obtain the swim team’s schedule for the next month. Their next away meet is on a Monday, and it takes very little convincing for Melody to tell her parents that her extra credit has been temporarily moved for the week. They spend at least an hour considering it before they finally, <em> reluctantly </em>, let her stay late after school.</p><p>This time they’re prepared, no longer forced to swim in their clothes and attempt to come up with a reasonable explanation for arriving home <em> wet </em>. Moana brings one of her own swimsuits for Melody to wear and even provides her with a pair of goggles. She’s certain that she looks ridiculous wearing them, but Moana doesn’t say anything. She just smiles that smile of hers and watches Melody with inviting eyes as she coaxes her to swim half a lap.</p><p>She’s insisted that Melody is a natural in the water, something that Melody herself has always known deep down. The sea has called to her for as long as she can remember, but it's only now, with Moana by her side, that she can finally follow that calling. In the pool she feels like a different person altogether, shedding her fears and anxieties as she front strokes towards Moana. She catches Melody at the halfway point, supporting both their weights and kicking towards the wall.</p><p>“Wow! You’re just… <em> wow! </em>” It’s the first time that Melody has ever seen Moana completely speechless. “It’s like you were born to swim!”</p><p>“Maybe I was,” she replies, leaning against the wall and lifting her goggles. Maybe every person was destined for one specific thing at birth, and it was all up to chance if they found that thing or not. The ocean is her thing, her calling, and while the pool isn’t <em> exactly </em> the same, she’s not about to complain. “The pool feels like home.”</p><p>“I always felt that way with the ocean,” Moana replies, hands gripping the pool deck while she tips her head backwards, dark waves floating about her head like a halo. “I was practically raised in it. We spent every weekend on the beach until we moved here.”</p><p>“What happened?” Moana has only referred to it once before and Melody hadn’t thought it appropriate to push. Nearly two months have passed since that first day, however, and as they’ve grown closer Melody has shared bits and pieces of herself that she’s never shared with anyone else before. Perhaps Moana will be willing to do the same.</p><p>“There was an accident,” she begins, eyes closing. “A storm. It wasn’t supposed to be as bad as it was. My Dad and my Uncle went out fishing, just like they did every day. They were on their way back when it hit. The boat capsized. My Dad did everything that he could but my Uncle…” Moana trails off, but Melody can surmise how the story ends. “After that, he couldn’t face the ocean anymore. He wouldn’t let any of us into the water. I guess eventually it was just easier to move than to live with those memories.”</p><p>Melody reaches out with a tentative hand, resting it against Moana’s arm. Her eyes blink open. “I’m so sorry,” she says, voice soft. “I shouldn’t have—”</p><p>“No, it’s fine. I don’t like to talk about it because, well, my Dad’s not the only one that was affected by it, you know? I love the ocean and I can’t let that part of myself go, but that doesn’t mean I’m not <em> scared </em>.”</p><p>Melody nods her head. “I’m scared every day,” she admits. Scared of the way the kids in her grade look at her, the way she knows they talk behind her back when they think she can’t hear them.</p><p>“Well,” Moana shifts, pulling herself back onto the ledge again, “I guess we’ll just have to keep each other brave.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Swim practice ended nearly fifteen minutes ago, but Moana and Melody are still seated in the bleachers, talking and laughing as if Melody’s parents won’t go absolutely crazy wondering why their daughter is two minutes late coming home from school.</p><p>Melody doesn’t realize that Ariel Christensen has approached them until she’s already speaking. “Why don’t you join the team?” Her long red hair is pulled over one shoulder and her head is cocked curiously to one side.</p><p>Melody looks up with wide eyes. No one as popular as Ariel Christensen has ever considered approaching someone like her, let alone engaging in a conversation. “Wh- what?” she manages to sputter out.</p><p>“Why don’t the two of you join the team?” she repeats, and the expression on her face is one of genuine curiosity. “It’s not like we don’t know what you’re doing.”</p><p>“What we’re--?” Moana laughs, but Melody can sense instantly that the girl is <em> tense </em> . “We’re not—I mean, why would you think—doing? Us? <em> Nah </em>.” She waves off Ariel’s words then crosses her arms over her chest.</p><p>“Don’t blow a fuse, I’m not going to tell. Besides, it’s not like you’d get in trouble anyway. This is a school pool and you do go to this school.” The words might be biting coming from anyone else, but there’s something about Ariel that actually sets Melody at ease. She’s not at all the way Melody has ever imagined. She’s one of the most popular girls at school, and yet she has a kindness hidden beneath the surface. It’s nothing like the popular girls in every movie that she’s ever seen.</p><p>“My parents would <em> kill me </em> if I joined the team,” Melody replies, and she’s pretty certain that’s not an over-exaggeration.</p><p>Ariel turns to Moana next. She merely shrugs and gestures towards Melody. “Same.”</p><p>“What your parents don’t know won’t hurt them,” Ariel replies, reaching into her bag and pulling out two permission slips. “Mer’s family is moving in a couple of weeks, so we’ll need some new blood on the team. You just need an adult to sign the waivers. Think it over, okay?” Her blue eyes are wide and, against Melody’s better judgement, she takes a permission slip.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>She finds Moana outside the school the next morning. This is hardly their typical before class routine, but she needs to talk about the swim team. She’d hemmed and hawed over the thing on her entire walk home, and when she was certain she’d finally worked up the courage to ask her parents she’d stepped through the door and her mother had blown her lid.</p><p>
  <em> Where have you been? You’re over half an hour late! You should have called! You had us worried sick! You could have fallen down a well, or been kidnapped, or worse! Don’t you dare do that to us ever again young lady! </em>
</p><p>And so the permission slip had remained shoved into the depths of her backpack, a secret that she carried with her back to school. For such a flimsy piece of paper, it surely weighs heavily on her shoulders.</p><p>“So…?” she asks with a smile, turning as Melody approaches. “How’d it go?”</p><p>“It didn’t go,” Melody replies, reaching up to tighten her high ponytail. “I didn’t even get a chance to ask. You?”</p><p>Moana’s face splits into the widest grin that Melody has ever seen, and her eyebrows raise in shock. “No flippin’ way.”</p><p>“I asked my Grandma to sign it and she said yes!” She reaches for Melody’s arms, grabbing them and jumping in a quick, excited circle. “She said she’ll keep it our little secret, but she knows how important swimming is to me!”</p><p>“You’re not scared?” Melody asks. Personally, she’d be absolutely terrified.</p><p>Moana shakes her head. “I just want to get back into the water again, you know?”</p><p>Melody can’t help but notice that Moana’s hands are still holding onto her arms.</p><p>Her heart pounds.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Moana, of course, is a natural in the pool. She makes the team without question and begins training immediately. Mer’s family packs up and moves back to Scotland two weeks later, and Moana is officially part of the team. Melody wishes she could come to more practices, but she knows her parents too well – they’d never let such a thing slide. So, she comes as often as she possibly can, finding her place in the bleachers and cheering her friend on from afar. It’s not quite the same as when they used to sit together, sometimes whispering and giggling and other times just sitting in silence and appreciating the form of each swimmer.</p><p>That’s not to say it’s bad, however. Some part of Melody thinks it's almost better. Before, every member of the swim team was but a figure that she admired, that she could put a name to but nothing else. Moana is someone that she actually knows; it has only been about three months since they first met, but Melody likes to think that she knows exactly how Moana ticks.</p><p>She finds Melody after practice, bathing suit shed for a pair of jeans, an orange tank, and a beige cardigan, wavy hair braided loosely down her back. “My first meet is next Friday,” she announces with a bright smile. “I want you to be there.”</p><p>“Friday?” Melody feels her mouth go dry. She’s pulled some strings with her parents before, but she can tell that they’re starting to pull those strings back, reigning her in. “I don’t… I don’t know if I can.”</p><p>Moana’s smile falters for just a moment, almost imperceptible, but then she’s back looking just as cheery as before. “I’d really love it if you could come, Mel. My parents won’t be there, and my Grandma can’t exactly get around by herself. You’re my best friend. And it’s right here, at the school. You wouldn’t even have to go far!”</p><p>The look on her face causes Melody’s heart to lurch. She wants to do this but it’s not quite as easy as that. Instead, she forces a smile onto her face and nods. “I’ll try my best.”</p><p>Moana grins like an absolute fool as she pulls Melody into a hug and spins them around the deck.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Are you out of your mind?”</p><p>Things don’t go quite as well at home as Melody had hoped.</p><p>On her walk home she’d decided that asking her parents for permission, rather than lying, was the more responsible thing to do. Apparently, she’d been wrong.</p><p>“Who knows what sort of creeps go to things like that?” Her mother has her back against the sink, a dishtowel in hand. “You could be molested by some girl’s father!”</p><p>“Mom!” Melody groans, arms flailing out from her side. “It’s just a swim meet! It’s not an… an orgy!”</p><p>Her mother’s hand flies to her chest as if clutching at pearls that aren’t there. “Don’t even joke about something like that, Melody! Your father and I are trying to protect you! We just don’t think you should be going out and—”</p><p>“And what? Living my life like a normal teenager? I’m almost fifteen, Mom! I’m not a baby! I’m not asking you to let me go to a party and drink a keg of beer! I’m asking if I can stay after school to watch my friend’s swim meet—”</p><p>“And I’m telling you no. End of discussion.” Her mother’s lips are set firmly in her face, the skin between her eyebrows creasing with concern. “Now, go up to your room and finish your homework. I’ll call you down when it’s time for dinner.”</p><p>Melody lets out a dramatic groan, a mixture of frustration and pure <em> anger </em> coursing through her veins. She stomps up the stairs to her bedroom, the door slamming shut behind her.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Melody finds Moana the next day at lunch. She’s taken to eating with the rest of the swim team, but they’ve welcomed Melody to their table. They don’t exactly treat her like she’s one of them, but they do treat her with kindness and that’s all that she’s ever really wanted. She sets her tray down across from Moana, sliding onto the bench beside Snow White who offers her a small wave of greeting.</p><p>“So, how did it go?” Moana asks, shovelling tater tots into her mouth. “What did your mom say?”</p><p>“She said no,” Melody replies gruffly, eyes glued to her lunch tray. “And she’s grounding me for the next week to make sure. Including Thursday.” Whether or not her mom has figured out that her extra credit didn’t exist, she wasn’t taking any chances. Melody feels her cheeks burn red hot. She feels like such a stupid little kid surrounded by these juniors and seniors who can drive cars, go to parties, <em> swim on a swim team </em>.</p><p>“I didn’t mean to get you in trouble,” Moana replies, her voice soft and tender in a way that it always seems to be. Melody’s stomach twists itself into knots.</p><p>“It’s not your fault, I… I should probably go.” She picks up her lunch without saying anything else, head down. Snow says something, maybe calling out to ask where she’s going, but Melody just watches the floor and finds somewhere that she can disappear to. Anywhere that isn’t here, where she’s the worst friend Moana could have asked for.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Being grounded isn’t much different than her normal day-to-day life. Her parents don’t typically encourage her to leave the house, to see friends, so the next week that she’s forced to spend in her room working on homework and doing nothing else feels less like a punishment and more of a reminder of the life that her parents have forced her to live.</p><p>The only difference is Thursday. It feels wrong to sprawl out across her bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning in idle circles while Moana is at practice, gearing up for tomorrow’s meet. She should be there, cheering her on. Instead, Melody has done her best to ignore Moana all week. On Monday she’d tried to call Melody over to their lunch table, but she’d found her own seat near the back of the cafeteria instead. There were some boys there – twins, Tip and Dash, although they hardly even looked related let alone like they shared the same womb – that had taken pity on her at the beginning of the school year and let her eat lunch with them. They spent most of their time talking to each other but would occasionally pull Melody into the conversation. At least, they attempted to; that week she wanted little to do with whatever comic book they were talking about.</p><p>She finds herself staring up at the ceiling again on Friday, her homework lying in a discarded pile on her floor. She can’t concentrate. All she can think about is Moana at her first swim meet, no one there to cheer her on. Every other kid will have someone in the audience; a parent, a grandparent, a <em> friend </em>. Melody can hear her mother vacuuming downstairs. She’s occupied. Her gaze flickers towards the window. There will be hell to pay if her mom comes up here and finds her missing, but perhaps that’s something she’s willing to sacrifice. For Moana.</p><p>It’s easy enough to open her window, but it’s less easy to convince herself to climb out and shimmy down the drainpipe. Her knuckles turn white as she clutches the windowsill, too afraid to let go. Her heart hammers uncomfortably loud in her chest. She must remind herself why she’s doing this – who she’s doing this for. Finally she sucks in a deep breath, moves her hands from the sill to the pipe, and slowly but surely makes her way down to the yard. She lands roughly in the garden, but any bumps and bruises will have to wait for another day. She’s already late.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Melody pushes through the double doors to the pool, the metal colliding with the wall and startling everyone sitting in the bleachers. She doesn’t apologize or say anything, simply worms her way through the crowd and into the spot they have always claimed. She crams herself in beside someone’s parents – Aurora’s, if looks are any indication – and finally has a chance to breathe. She knows she’s panting, maybe even heaving slightly, but she doesn’t care. Swimmers are lining up on their podiums and there’s Moana, strapping the goggles over her eyes. Melody raises an arm in greeting, trying to grab her attention, but it's clear that her friend is too far in the zone to glance towards the bleachers.</p><p>Either that or she simply knows that no one is waiting there to cheer her on.</p><p>Melody squirms awkwardly in her seat as the swimmers get into position, her heart thumping with excitement. She can only imagine how Moana feels. The swimmers take their marks. Her heart hammers even faster. The pistol is fired. The swimmers are in the water.</p><p>Melody is on her feet clapping before she even realizes what she’s doing. It’s Moana, Ariel, and Snow against three girls from the other school. Melody knows that any one of them winning will help the whole team but, frankly, she doesn’t care about the other two girls. She’s only watching Moana. She moves with such grace through the water, like it’s her home. Like she doesn’t belong on land but rather in the sea. (Or the pool).</p><p>She stomps her feet against the bleachers as Moana manages to steal the lead from Ariel. A large group of students further down is cheering vehemently for Ariel, but Melody pushes that thought aside. All she can focus on is Moana. The lead swimmers reach the end of the pool and turn, Moana pulling ahead even farther. Melody is clapping and cheering and stomping like a madman, her heart swelling with a sense of pride. If it were any other swimmer she might feel resentful and wish that she were in their shoes, but with Moana, all she can do is feel happy for the girl. This dream is one that they both shared, and if it couldn’t be Melody then she’s glad that it could be her friend instead.</p><p>The swimmers are closing the final lap and Moana is still a half body length ahead of everyone else. Melody feels her throat going hoarse, but she doesn’t care. It’s with pure elation that she watches Moana reach the end of the pool first, her head bobbing up from the water to watch as Ariel finishes a hair behind her. The rest of the crowd continues to cheer on the stragglers, but Melody feels as if everything else around her has melted away. Moana lifts her goggles and turns, for the first time, towards the stands.</p><p>Their eyes meet.</p><p>The look on her face is one that Melody isn’t quite sure she could describe in words. It’s pure joy and, for a moment, she thinks that her heart may have actually stopped beating. The final girl touches the wall, and the race is over. As Moana climbs out of the pool the rest of the team comes over to congratulate her and Melody is on her feet. She doesn’t know the protocols of audience members but at this point, she hardly cares.</p><p>Moana is small, practically drowning in the swarm of other swimmers, but she spots Melody through the throng of people and breaks past, walking as fast as she can on the slippery pool deck towards her. They meet somewhere in the middle and Moana throws her arms around Melody, picking the younger girl off the ground and spinning her in a circle. Melody laughs, clutching onto Moana for dear life despite the fact that she’s absolutely <em> soaked </em>.</p><p>She sets her back down and Melody opens her mouth to congratulate Moana on the win, but suddenly a palm is cupping the side of her face and her mind falls completely blank. She doesn’t even register Moana’s lips against her own until the entire swim team starts whooping and whistling.</p><p>Moana pulls back and Melody blinks long and hard, as if to make sure this isn’t all just a dream. “You made it,” Moana says, grabbing onto Melody’s forearm.</p><p>“Ummm,” is about all that Melody can manage to get out, her mind still reeling and her whole body seeming to vibrate with the aftereffects of the kiss.</p><p>“How’d you convince your mom to let you come?” Moana is talking as if she hasn’t just kissed Melody in front of the entire swim team, like they all aren’t hanging on every word of the conversation while pretending that they can’t hear anything at all.</p><p>“I… I kind of snuck out,” she finally manages to stammer, locking blue eyes with brown.</p><p>The smile on Moana’s lips falter. “You <em> what </em>? Mel, your mom is going to kill you.”</p><p>Melody’s own smile grows. “I know,” she replies. “I don’t care.”</p><p>And without thinking, she pulls Moana in close and kisses her again. The <em> ooh </em>ing and clapping commence again, but Melody manages to drown it all out. It’s just her and Moana, one girl that is new and one girl that is strange, but each one girl that was looking for another.</p><p>It’s like she was drowning, and Moana pulled her safely to shore. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>beta'd by the lovely mel (mellybear)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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